Heel roughing machine



Nov. 5, 1940.

c. G. BROSTROM HEEL Roueamq MACHINE Filed July 20 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l Ayn/[gm rm;

@EIIHHE w QWN Nov. 5, 1940. c. G. BROSTROM HEEL ROUGHING MACHINE Filed July 20, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 5, 1940.

c. G BROSTROM 2,220,204

HEEL ROUGHING MACHINE Filed July 20, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 5, 1940 HEEL ROUGHING MACHINE Charles G. Brostrom, Salem, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application July '20, 1939, Serial No. 285,540

7 Claims.

This invention relates to'roughing machines and is herein describedand illustrated as embodied in a machine particularly designed for roughing the upper and lower surfaces of the base section of a shoe heel to prepare said surfaces for the reception of cement to'be used in attaching the heel base to the heel seat of a shoe or attaching a rubber heel to the heel base, or both.

It is particularly difficult to secure a uniformly roughed surface upon the cupped attaching face of a heel or heel base by manually presenting the article to a rotating wire brush, and a high degree of skill on the part of an operator is required to produce an acceptable product.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a simple, effective machine by the use of which even an unskilled operator can rapidly and perfectly rough attaching surfaces of heels, even though such surfaces be very irregular. With this object in view, I have provided an organized mechanism in which are combined a roughing tool, a carriage upon which is mounted a clamp for holding the heel to be operated upon, and a track upon which the carriage is movable past the roughing tool, the shape of said track and the shape of the roughing tool being determined by the shape ofthe surfaces of the work to be operated upon so that, by cooperation between the carriage and the tool, the surfaces of the work will be uniformly and effectively roughed.

In order to adaptthe machine for operation upon heels having surfaces of different shapes, the above-mentioned track may, in accordance with the invention, .consist of a series of sections,

which sections are relatively adjustable whereby the shape of the track may be varied in accordance with the requirements of the work. In the illustrated machine, the heel carriage moves on a pair of such tracks which are spaced apart transversely of the direction of movement of the carriage and the sections of each track are relatively adjustable independently of the sections of the other track, whereby. the path of movement of the heel carriage can be varied both longitudinally and transversely of the direction of said movement.

Another feature of the invention, which expedites the insertion and removal of heels, consists in the combination, with a roughing tool and a heel carriage movable toward and from the same, of a heel clamp upon the carriage which is automatically .closed upon the heel by a spring when the carriage is moved toward the roughing tool and an additional advantageous feature is provided in the form of a lock which acts positively upon the clamp after the clamp has been closed upon a heel to prevent the heel from. being displaced from the clamp by the action of the roughing tool.

The above and other features of the invention and advantages afforded thereby will be more fully understood and appreciated from reading the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the essential mechanism of a heel roughing machine;

Fig. 2 is a view of the same, partly in front elevation and partly in transverse vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of adetail of the mounting of the mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the heel clamp and carriage;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the movement of the heel relative to the roughing tool; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are side and end views respectively of an orthopedic heel which can besuccessfully roughed by the machine.

In the drawings ill indicates a roughing tool which may consist of a circular wire brush mounted upon a driven shaft I2, the axis of which is stationary. The said brush rotates continuously in the direction indicated by the arrow upon Fig. 1. All of the remaining mechanism is supported by a bracket 84 which is secured to a stationary portion It of the machine frame by bolts l8 passing through slots in the bracket [4 in such a manner that when the bolts are loosened the entire mechanism may be bodily adjusted forward or rearward relatively to the roughing brush l0.

Supported for vertical adjustment in the bracket I4 is a table 22 having an integral vertical slide portion 26 which is movable in a guideway 28 formed in the bracket. A screw 30 operable by a hand wheel 32 is journaled in a plate 34 bolted at 36 to the bracket [4 and is prevented from movingvertically therein by a collar 38 upon the shank of the screw. The screw 30 is threaded into the slide 26 and constitutes means for adjusting the mechanism supported by the bracket I4 vertically, toward or away from the roughing brush I0.

Depending from the table 22 are two internally threaded projections 40 and 42 which constitute supports for sections of a pair of tracks upon which the heel carriage moves. Threaded into the projection 42 is a screw 44, operated by a hand wheel 46, which screw is journaled in a plate 48 in the same manner as that in which the screw 30 is journaled in the plate 34. The plate 48 is secured to a slide 50, to the top of which is affixed a section 52 of a channeled track, which may, for convenience, be termed the right-hand track.

A similar section 54 of' a left-hand track is secured to the top of a vertically movable slide 56 having affixed to its lower end a plate 58 in which is journaled a screw 60 threaded into the projection 40 and operated by a hand wheel 62. It will be apparent that by operating the hand wheels 46 and 62 the right and left-hand track sections can be raised or lowered independently of each other.

Referring now to Fig. 1, a vertically stationary section 64 of the left-hand track is mounted upon a supporting block 66 which is secured to the table 22 by a screw 68. The track section 64 is joined to the track section 54 by connecting links I0, I2, which are hinged at I4 and I6, respectively, to the track section 64 and at I8 and 80, respectively, to the track section 54. By reason of this construction the continuity of the track groove is preserved, regardless of the up and down adjustment of the movable section 54. The above description applies equally to the righthand track, the construction and operation of which are the same as those of the left-hand track.

Each of the tracks is divided into two portions, a front portion and a rear portion. What has just been described is the front portion of the left-hand track. The rear portion thereof also consists of three sections, viz., a stationary section, a vertically adjustable section, and a hinged connecting section. In Fig. 1 the vertically adjustable section is shown at 82 and is affixed to the top of the slide 56 so that it moves up and down with the forward track section 54.

The rear stationary section 84 of this portion of the track is bolted at 86 to the stationary table 22 and is joined to the track section 82 by con- 1 necting links 88, 90 which are hinged at 92 and 84, respectively, to the track section 84 and at 96 and 98, respectively, to the track section 82, to

preserve the continuity of the track groove as explained above.

Extending downward from the under side of the table 22 is a bracket I00 in the lower portion of which is journaled a horizontal shaft I02 to which is pinned a rocker arm I04, the upper end of which is connected by an adjustable link I06 to a pivot I68 in an ear IIO upon the under side of a heel carriage H2.

The carriage II2 has four legs II4 each of which carries a stud II6 upon which is journaled a roll II8 which fits in the grooves in the tracks sufliciently loosely to allow the carriage to move forward or rearward easily. Upon the outer end of the shaft I02 a manually operable lever I is secured by means of a clamping screw I22. This lever is swung forward or rearward by the operator to move the heel carriage I I2 forward or rearward beneath the roughing brush I0.

Mounted upon the carriage I I2 is a heel holder comprising a plate I24 pivotally supported by two alined screws I26 having conical points. The pivotal axis is near the rear end of the plate and the forward end of the plate is adjustably supported by an eye-bolt I28 pivoted to the plate at I30 and passing loosely through two lugs I32 formed upon a member I34 which is secured to the carriage II2 by a bolt I36. Positioned be-I tween the lugs I32 is a nut I38 which is threaded upon the eye-bolt I28 and provides for vertical adjustment of the forward end of the plate I24 relative to the carriage I I2.

Referring to Fig. 4, a fork I40 for engaging the rear, curved portion of a heel is slidably mounted in a guide I42 upon the upper face of the plate I24. The shank portion I44 of the fork has threaded engagement with an adjusting screw I46 by means of which the fork may be adjusted forward or rearward to accommodate heels of different sizes.

Also slidable in the guide member I42 is the shank I48 of a heel breast bar I50 under the influence of a pull spring I52 which tends to draw it toward the fork I40 to clamp between the breast bar and the fork any heel I54 placed between the clamping members, regardless of its size.

A projection I56 upon the breast bar I50 is arranged to engage a stationary stop I58, secured to the table 22 by a bolt I60, and thus to cause the spring I52 to be stretched and the heel clamp to be opened when the carriage H2 is moved to its extreme forward position. After the heel to be operated upon'hasbeen placed between the fork I40 and the breast bar I50, the carriage is moved rearward, the projection I56 leaves the stop I58 and-the spring I52 contracts, causing the breast bar to clamp the heel against the fork I40.

In order to avoid any danger of the breast bar I50 yielding as a result of force applied to the heel by the roughing brush, means is provided for positively locking the shank I48 of the'breast bar in whatever position it may occupy after the latter has been drawn against the breast of the heel.

The positive locking of the breast bar I50 is effected by an eccentric I62 rotatable about a pivot pin I64 and operable by a lever I66 which is rigid with the eccentric and which is normally pulled forward, to force the eccentric into locking engagement with the top of the shank I48, by a spring I68 attached to a rod II0 mounted upon the plate I24.

In order to rotate the eccentric I62 and unlock the breast bar I50, a stationary upright rod "2 having a horizontal overhanging portion H4 is mounted in the table 22. The end of the horizontal portion N4 of this rod is so positioned in the path of movement of the upper end of he lever I66 that just before the projection I56 upon the breast bar strikes the stop I58 the lever I66 encounters the stationary rod I14, further outward movement of the heel carriage causing the eccentric I62 to be rotated sufficiently to unlock the breast bar-shank I48 and permit the heel clamp to be opened by the stop member I58.

It will be apparent from Fig. 1 that the rearmost track section 84 is curved downward so that the rear end of the heel carriage is lowered somewhat as the carriage approaches the rearward limit of'its movement. The result of this is that the heel is tilted to approximately the position indicated by the dash lines in Fig. 5, in order to present the rear portion of its attaching face properly to the roughing brush I0.

The illustrated heel is of the orthopedic type, having one side built up higher than the other as illustrated at I16. The ability to adjust the right-hand and left-hand track sections heightwise-independently of each other makes it possible to tilt the heel carriage transversely as shown in Fig. 2 to meet this condition and the longitudinal tilting of the heel holder provided for by its pivotal mounting at I 26 and the adjusting nut I38 at the front enables the machine to operate on heels having any degree of longitudinal wedge.

As above described, the machine is organized to operate on the concave attaching face of a heel base, the opposite, or outer, face of which is usually fiat. fiie same machine may be used to rough the flat face of the heel base by substituting for theillustrated roughing brush, the face of which is transversely curved, a roughing brush having a straight face, and so adjusting the tracks that the heel carriage will move in a straight line, the wedge of the heel being provided for by proper adjustment of the nut I38. In this case, the heel base will, of course, be placed in the clamp with its fiat surface facing upward.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a heel roughing machine, the combination of a roughing tool, a heel carriage, a heel clamp upon the carriage, and a track upon which the carriage is movable past the roughing tool, said track being shaped to vary the distance between the carriage and the roughing tool as the carriage moves past said tool.

2. In a heel roughing machine, the combination of a roughing tool, a heel carriage, and a sectional track upon which the carriage is movable past the roughing tool, the sections of said track being relatively adjustable to vary the shape of the path of movement of the heel carriage thereon.

3. In a heel roughing machine, the combination of a roughing tool, a heel carriage, and a pair of sectional tracks upon which the carriage is movable past the roughing tool, the sections of each track being relatively adjustable independently of the sections of the other track to vary the shape of the path of movement of the heel carriage both longitudinally and transversely of the direction of said movement.

4. In a heel roughing machine, the combination of a roughing tool, a heel carriage movable toward and from said roughing tool, a spring closed heel clamp upon the carriage adapted to be closed upon and to clamp any heel, re ardless of its size, and means for positively locking said clamp whatever the relation of the clamping members may be after the clamp has been spring closed upon a heel.

5. In a heel roughing machine, the combination of a roughing tool, a heel carriage movable toward and from said roughing tool, a spring closed heel clamp upon the carriage adapted to be closed upon and toclamp any heel, regardless of its size, means for positively locking the clamp whatever the relation of the clamping members may be when the carriage is moved toward the roughing tool, and means for unlocking the clamp when the carriage is moved away from the roughing tool.

6. In a heel roughing machine, the combination of a roughing tool rotatable about a stationary axis, a vertically adjustable work support beneath said roughing tool, a pair of tracks upon the work support, and a heel carriage movable back and forth upon the tracks, said tracks being independently adjustable to vary the path of movement of the heel carriage.

'7. In a heel roughing machine, the combination of a roughing tool, a heel carriage, tracks upon which the carriage is movable back and forth beneath said tool, means for adjusting the tracks to tilt the carriage transversely, a heel holder pivotally mounted upon the carriage, and means for tilting said holder longitudinally of the carrier.

CHARLES G. BROSTROM. 

